Yuca Versus Yucca: How One Letter Can Make All the Difference

One little letter can make all the difference when it comes to yuca versus yucca.

It comes to light, that we have been using the incorrect spelling for “yuca” for some time. Thankfully, it was only the spelling though. Thanks to the detailed eye of Shea Popa-Wood for spotting this inaccuracy, we can all rest easy.

This is yuca (not yucca).

As it turns out, we have been incorrectly spelling the “yuca” on our menu as “yucca.” Maybe at a dinosaur restaurant, they eat “yucca”, but it’s not the tuber that we have become so fond of on the machi cure at Uchi or Top Knot’s chips. Prepping “yucca” would not be that fun I imagine, perhaps more labor intensive at the minimum.

This is a “yucca”. Not edible.

Thanks to our friends (and Shea!!) at Survival Gardener.com we also found some great information and facts on “yuca.”

As it turns out cassava (yuca pseudonym) is quite the important food source around the world. Here are some fun facts for those of you who play Jeopardy or just want to be informed:

It is the 3rd most important source of calories in the tropics next to rice and maize.

It has more than twice the calories per gram compared to its counterpart potatoes.

You can eat the leaves of the plant for a source of protein.

It has been known to reduce the symptoms of arthritis.

It has photoprotective properties. It can act as sunscreen when made into an extract.

For the gardeners who might be interested in cultivating your own cassava or yuca, check out this great video by the team at Survival Gardener.